The new epic levels are a lot of fun to play with, although to really get stuck into the possibilities on offer you will have to continue your adventure online. I finished the game with another 14 levels of advancement to go, so if you want to realise the true potential of your character be prepared to spend a lot of time online. And as the HotU campaign isn't playable co-operatively you will have to do this using third-party modules. Yet as you read through the epic level feats (one of them allows a certain class to turn into a dragon for example), and realise just how uber you can become the lure of the worlds becomes very strong.

I personally would have liked HotU to have taken me all the way to level forty, but the story would have required a lot of work to keep its inertia, and it does encourage players to get stuck into the healthy online community. The interface works like a charm now, and if you can find some good players and a good connection the hours will just drop away. You could download some single-player modules, but so far good ones that use the epic rules are not as abundant as they could be. Time will change that though.

Hordes of the Underdark is a feature rich expansion which easily surpasses the somewhat lacklustre Shadows of Undrentide and to my mind is a more enjoyable romp than even the original Neverwinter Nights. The engine may look a little dated but is has been sexed-up enough to keep it fresh and exciting without being a shaky justification for war. The story is often funny - even laugh out loud - while containing enough twists, misdirection and surprises to keep even the most jaded freak entertained. Bioware have shown that they are the master of the computer RPG, and in this expansion they have shown what a great team can do when given the opportunity to go to town on a creation they so obviously love. NWN now feels complete as a computer RPG system and Bioware have fulfilled the potential that was so tantalisingly dangled in front of us when the original was unleashed. I am now very hopeful that their forthcoming title is to be confirmed as the sequel to this groundbreaking RPG series.

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By Sam Gibson